Drain apparatus



April 1959 J. F. LENGYEL 2,880,425

DRAIN APPARATUS Filed Oct. 15, 1955 INVENTOR John E Lengge] ,64 7% TTORNEY United States Patent DRAIN APPARATUS John F. Lengyel, Cheshire, Conn., assignor to Scovill Manufacturing Company, Waterbury, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Application October 13, 1955, Serial No. 540,229

1 Claim. (Cl. 4-199) This invention relates to improvements in drain apparatus for bath tubs and the like and particularly to one in which the outlet valve is operated from a remote point such as at the overflow outlet.

Heretofore such remote controlled drain apparatus resorted to the use of swinging arms or offset cranks or pivoted levers with various types of interconnecting linkage and cams to operate the valve plugs. This mechanism was expensive to manufacture, likely to become inoperative and ditficult and costly to repair.

It is an object of my invention to provide a valve operating apparatus that will be very simple in construction, easy to operate and economical to make. In regard to ease of operation a control knob is provided having a simple vertical sliding motion at the overflow outlet for operating the valve.

Another object is to provide a simple means for operating the drain plug in the form of a sliding cam wedge coacting with the drain outlet fitting for lifting the drain plug upon operation of the control knob. The mechanical advantage of the wedge reduces the forces required to be transmitted from the control knob by the flexible connection which extends through the overflow and drain pipes.

A further object is to provide a drain valve operating device that will be very simple to assemble into and remove from the overflow and drain pipes of a tub, and one that will not require any mechanical connections directly with the drain plug or any sort of operating linkage in the drain outlet.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be pointed out in the detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a sectional view of the apparatus embodying my invention shown associated with a fragmentary'section of a bath tub.

Fig. 2 is an end view of a special T fitting used in connection with the drain and overflow pipes.

Fig. 3 is a front view of the escutcheon plate and anchor disc with portions of the escutcheon plate removed.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the handle stem guide washer, and

Fig. 5 is a sectional view of the drain plug valve portion of the apparatus showing a modification.

Referring now to the drawing and particularly to Fig. 1, it will be noted that the apparatus comprising my invention is shown associated with a bath tub, a portion of which is illustrated at 10. The tub is provided with the usual drain opening 11 and overflow opening 12.

A plug retainer shell or housing 13 is fitted into the drain opening 11 and held there-in-place by an elbow fitting 14 having threaded engagement with said shell 13. A drain plug 15 of considerable weight is slidably fitted into the shell 13 and is provided with a conical head 16 which is adapted to engage a complementary conical seat 17 formed at the upper end of said shell 13. The plug 15 is provided with a depending stem 18 that proice jects through the perforated base wall 19 of the shell 13 and is suitably guided therein. The elbow fitting 14 is connected to a drain pipe 20 and opposite from its point of attachment with said drain pipe 20 the fitting is formed with a biased or inclined wall 21 that serves to lessen the turbulence of the waste water by directing it through the elbow fitting 14 into said drain pipe 20. The drain pipe 20 connects into a T fitting 22 of special construction in that it has a central arcuate guide rib 23 traversing the through channel of the fitting for reasons as will appear later. This fitting 22 in turn is connected to an overflow pipe 24 having a special elbow fitting 25 at its upper end for connecting the pipe 24 to the tub overflow opening 12.

The elbow fitting 25 is secured to the tub 10 by an anchor disc 26 supporting a pair of screws 27 extending through holes 27a in the anchor disc and having threaded engagement with embossments 28 on the elbow fitting 25 for drawing said elbow fitting against the back of the tub 10 With an interposed sealing gasket 29 for sealing the overflow opening 12. A dish-shaped round escutcheon plate 30 is provided that fits against the inner face of the tub for the purpose of covering the anchor disc 26 and is removably secured thereto as by a hook connection 31 and screw 32. The side walls of the plate 30 are cut out at 30a for any overflow drainage.

The valve operating apparatus has a threaded stem 33 extending through a vertical elongated slot 34 in the escutcheon plate 30, and is formed with an intermediate collar 33a that slidably bears against the underside of said plate 30. A handle knob 35 is threadedly attached to the stem 33 with a spacer washer 36 preferably made of nylon interposed between said knob and the stern collar 33a. The washer 36 is formed with a pair of projecting legs 36a that ride within the slot 34 and serves to stabilize the sliding action of the stem 33 relative to the plate 30. The Washer 36 also holds the handle knob 35 in spaced relation to the plate 30 so as to prevent said knob from m-arring the polished surface of said plate.

The handle stem 33 extends through a relatively large opening 37 in the anchor disc 26 and into the hollow portion of the elbow fitting 25 between the screws 27. The opening 37 allows for any overflow drainage that may occur in the tub, is shaped as shown in Fig. 3, and is large enough to permit the assembly and removal of parts of the control apparatus therethrough as will be explained later.

A long flat metal strap 38 is provided having a series of holes 38a adjacent its upper end so that it may be attached to the inner end of the handle stem 33 as by a pair of opposed nuts 39 through the particular hole which fits the installation. The strap 38 extends downwardly through the overflow pipe 24, through the T fitting 22, through the drain pipe 20 and into the elbow fitting 14 and having sliding contact with the inner walls of said pipes 20 and 24. Attached to the lower inner end of the strap 38 is a wedge-shaped cam block 40 having a long gently sloping front cam surface 40a and a short steeper rear cam surface 40b. The cam surface 40a is adapted to engage against the lower end of the valve plug depending stem 18 for the purpose of elevating or' lowering the drain plug 15 as will be more fully explained later. The forward or nose end 40c of the cam block 40 overlaps the end of the strap 38 and is adapted to engage and slide upon the biased wall 21 of the fitting 14.

In the operation of this valve control apparatus in order to open the drain valve it is only necessary for the operator to move the handle knob 35 vertically downwardly to the dotted line position shown in front of the escutcheon plate 30 as seen in Fig. 1. This movement of the knob 35 will impart sliding movement to the strap 38 which in 3 turn will cause the nose end 400 of the cam block 40 to ride upon the biased wall 21 of the elbow 14 while at the same time the cam surface 40a is sliding underneath the plug stem 18 to elevate said block upwardly to the dotted line position and consequently move the valve plug 15 and its depending stem 18 upwardly to drain-open position. In closing the valve it is only necessary to reverse the position of the knob 35 by raising it to its uppermost position, whereupon the valve plug 15 drops by gravity to close the valve.

One of the purposes of this invention is to be able to make the initial assembly of the moving parts, repairs and adjustments without the need of making any major disassembly of the various parts such as the pipes and fittings of the apparatus. In making the assembly, the anchor disc 26 is first fitted against the tub and secured to the elbow fitting 25. The movable control ,parts, such as the strap 38, nylon washer 36 andthe-stem 33'are next attached to the escutcheon plate 30 as a unit before itis attached to the anchor disc 26. The leading end of strap 38 with its wedge block 40 is inserted through the large opening 37 in the anchor disc 26 and then guided down the overflow pipe 24 and angled through the T fitting 22 by reason of the guide rib 23 and through the drain pipe into the drain elbow 14. By reason of this simple strap and wedge block construction there is no need of having any intricate hinge linkage or other complex devices for operating the plug valve as has been the practice heretofore, and which mechanism was the source of trouble in that lint, hair and other foreign matter would readily catch and load up on the mechanism and eventually clog the drain.

In order to remove the valve operating mechanism, it is only necessary to remove the single screw 32 and unlatch the plate from the hook connection 31 after which the entire unit including the strap 38 and cam block 40 can be withdrawn through the disc opening 37. The rear cam surface 40b on the cam block 40 prevents said block from catching on to the relative sharp corner 41 of the T fitting 22.

It is also to be noted that the lower end 23a of the guide rib 23 of the T fitting 22 is elevated some distance above the inner wall of the drain pipe 20. This is to prevent the nose end 400 of the cam block 40 during the assembly operation from catching on to the end of the pipe 20 in case the latter is not fully assembled into its respective recess in said T fitting 22.

Fig. 5 is a modification which is identical in all re spects to the firstform of the invention except for the construction of the drain elbow fitting and cam or wedging block. In this form the drain elbow is of conventional construction and lacks the biased wall 21 that is shown 4 in the first form. The cam block 51 has a flat base 51a that rides along the flat base of the elbow fitting 50 and its upper surface 51b isfinclined its full length to act as a wedge in elevating the stem 18 and valve plug 15 coincident with the sliding motion of the wedging block 51.

Two forms of the invention are presented herein for the purpose of exemplification but it will be appreciated that the invention is susceptible of changes and other structural modified forms coming equally within the scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

A drain apparatus for a bath tub or the like having a drain opening in the bottom of the tub and an overflow opening in the adjacent wall ofthe tub, comprising an etbow fitting at each opening, a drain pipe leading from the elbow fitting at the drain opening and a down pipe leading from the elbow fitting .at theoverfiow opening, a T fitting connecting both of .said pipes, a valve seat associated with said drain opening, aplugvalve for closing said seat having a stem extending downwardly into the drain elbow fitting, and means for manipulating the valve comprising a flexible metal strap member extending from the overflow opening through the down pipe, T fitting and drain pipe, a wedge block attached to the end of said flexible member and adapted to lift said valve when pushed by said flexible member between said stern and the bottom Wall of the drain elbow fitting and otherwise having no connection with said valve, said T fitting formed with a transverse rib having an arcuate face for guiding said strap member and wedging block into the drain pipe for assembly purposes, a handle projecting through the overflow fitting and connected to said flexible member, removable means for mounting said handle to the tub at the overflow opening whereby when said removable means is disengaged from the tub the entire valve manipulating means including the flexible member and wedge block may be removed or reinserted through said overflow opening.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNKTED STATES PATENTS 852,596 Butterfield May 7, 1907 954,680 Kenney Apr. 12, 1910 1,048,825 Grifiiths Dec. 31, 1912 1,547,764 Kuehl July 28, 1925 1,811,406 Rudolph June 23, 1931 1,980,493 Morisseau Nov. 13, 1934 2,066,960 Cook et 'al. Jan. 5, 1937 2,271,837 Frederickson et a1 Feb. 3, 1942 2,506,206 Fulton .May 2, 1950 

